Smoke consumer



.May 6, 1958- o. A. SCHROEDER 2,833,528

v SMOKE CONSUMER Filed NOV. 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. OTTO A. SCHROEDEM BY 1. V1,; 4

A T TORNEVS May 6, 1958 o. A. SCHROEDER SMOKE CONSUMER Filed Nov. 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Q es se f/GLZ INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS arm A. SCHROEDER' ww aw United States SMOKE CONSUMER Otto A. Schroeder, Colfax, Calif.

Application November 22, 1955, Serial No. 548,508

1 Claim. (Cl. 26121) The invention relates to improvements in devices for cleaning or scrubbing exhaust gases and, more particularly, to improvements in devices of the kind shown and described, for example, in my Patent 1,124,066, dated January 5, 1915.

While the need for exhaust gas cleaners has existed for many years, the enormous growth of industry in the latter years has made the demand even more compelling. Furthermore, while smoke consumers of various kinds have long been used and have operated With a certain measure of success, present-day reasons of health and comfort have dictated the need for even greater ehiciency of devices for washing or scrubbing exhaust gases.

It is therefor an object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which efficiently removes substantially all of the foreign matter customarily found in exhaust gases.

It is another object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which can be constructed for a relatively economical amount and yet which is durable and long lived.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which permits adjustment of the relative amounts of smoke and exhaust gases discharging into the atmosphere and entering the smoke-consumer.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an exhaust gas scrubber which can be used in a wide variety of industrial applications.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which has but a minimum of moving parts to get out of order.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which can be easily cleaned.

It is another object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer which can readily be placed into operating condition after cleaning.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a smoke consumer in which by increasing the number of cleaning units, the exhaust gases can be cleaned to any desired state of cleanliness.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a generally improved smoke consumer.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is a side elevation of the smoke consumer, a portion of the figure being shown in section to illustrate the interior construction.

Figure 2 is a top elevation of the washing tank, the plane of the view being indicated by the line ?r2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a showing to an enlarged scale of the spray wash portion of the device, a portion of the figure being shown in section to reveal the interior construction there--' Figure 4 is a vertical median section of modified form of the washing tank and attendant structure.

Patented May 6, 1958 While the smoke consumer of my invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments depending upon the particular use to which the device is to be placed, a number of the herein shown and described devices have been made and used and have performed in any eminently satisfactory fashion.

The smoke consumer of my invention is generally installed as a unit. generally designated by the numeral 6, and is located adjacent a smoke stack 7 or other similar vent for exhaust gases. At a suitable location along a vertical dimension of the stack 7, an exhaust gas withdrawal pipe 8, or conduit, is caused to intersect with the stack and is in communication therewith at an aperture 9. Extending transversely across the smoke stack 7 for about one half of the stack diameter is a deflector plate 11, the plate 11 also extending inwardly into the conduit 8 for a predetermined distance depending upon the respective sizes of the stack and conduit, a length of approximately 1% to 2 times the diameter of the conduit 8, however, serving as a very satisfactory dimension. Mounted transversely across a diameter of the stack and having one end projecting exteriorly therefrom, in order to permit rotation from outside the stack, is a shaft 12 having mounted thereona deflector plate 13, or valve or bafile. Rotation of the shaft 12 and the bathe 13 is effected by a yoke 14, or rocker arm mounted exteriorly on the shaft 12 and having chain leadsv 15 and 16 passing over suitable sheaves 17 and 18, respectively, and being reeved about an indicator sheave 19 mounted on a framework 21, the indicator sheave .19 having a suitable indicating arrow 22 disposed thereon in a position corresponding to the attitude of the bafiie 13, and thus showing to the operator at all times the angular attitude or position of the bafiie 13 within the stack.

The bafile 13 is swingable from a first or horizontal position, indicated by the numeral 26, transversely of the stack axis and capable of fully blocking the stack in conjunction with the deflector plate 11. The baiile is placed in the transverse or horizontal attitude 26 when it is desired to deflect the entire stack output into the conduit 8. When, however, the smoke consumer unit requires celaning, or the dispositions of the atmosphere or wind are such that exhaust gases may be discharged freely into the atmosphere, the bafile 13 can beswung by the leads 15 and 16 through the arc and in the direction indicated by the numeral 27 to assume a vertical attitude, or second position, indicated by the numeral 28. In this event, the stack gasses are free to travel up the righthand semi-circular half of the stack and to discharge freely into the atmosphere as indicated by the arrow designated by the numeral 3 The baffle 13 can be. swung into any predetermined attitude intermediate the two extreme positions to ac-.

the stack by the deflector plate 11 in combination with I the. bathe '13. whenv the baflie is placed in horizontal ornearly horizontal position. in this attitude of the bafiie the smoke path 32 creates a reduced pressure in the area designated by the numeral 36 as by an injection effect. air from the atmosphere downwardly through the stack and to deflect the air inwardly in the direction indicated Thepartial vacuum thus created tends to draw I by the arrow 37 to travel across the upper surface of the deflector plate 11 and, adjacent the area 36, to become intermingled with the hot exhaust gases from the stack. The effect of the intermingling of the colder pure air is to lower the temperature of the exhaust gases and thereby toreduce the amount of wear and tear on the subsequent elements in the smoke consumer. Furthermore, the introduction of the pure air dilutes the exhaust gases and reduces the concentration of impurities in the exhaust gases and thus reduces the load borne by the washing or scrubbing sections of the device.

After the commingled cool and hot gases have passes through the blower 33, they are directed in a left-hand direction, as appears in Figure l, and are blown through a spray or shower chamber, generally designated 41, and comprising a section of the conduit 8 in which the gases are subjected to a watershower from a plurality of spray nozzles 42 projecting upwardly into the spray chamber. Each of the nozzles comprises a spray head 43 mounted by suitable structure on the bottom 44 of a trough 45. having a pair of opposed sides 46 and ends 48 and opening upwardly into or in communication with the spray chamber 41. At the left-hand end of the trough 45, as appears most clearly in Figures 1 and 3, a drain pipe 48a serves to drain from the trough 45 the water falling downwardly from the sprays and themtrapped or dissolved products removed from the exhaust gases by the shower, the water and the impurities draining downwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow 49. I

Adjacent the left-hand end of the horizontal portion of the conduit 3, shown in Figures 1 and 3, the conduit turns downwardly to form a vertical portion 51; and the exhaust gases not cleaned entirely by the shower scrubber proceeds in a vertically downward direction through the portion 51 where they are joined by the water and dissolved and otherwise extracted impurities draining through the pipe 48a as indicated by the arrow 52.

Under force imparted by the blower 33, the exhaust gases thereupon travel downwardly to a location adjacent the bottom 54 of the vertical portion 51 of the conduit and there travel laterally outwardly through a plurality of perforated pipes 56 in communication with the conduit and in the directions indicated by the arrows 57.

The lower portion of the vertical section 51 of the conduit is submerged in a washing or cleaning fluid, such as water, indicated by the numeral 61 disposed within a tank 62.n1ounted on a main frame 63, the tank comprising a cylindrical wall 64, a top 65 and a bottom 70. illustrated in Figure 1, the water 61 is introduced into the tank 62 by a water feedline 66 entering the tank adjacent the bottom thereof through anopening 67 and connecting with the adjacent one of the pipes 56 which extends across the tank in the manner shown. The end of the pipe 56 opposite the aperture 67 extends out wardly through an opening 68 in the tank and, in the figure shown, has its end blocked off by a suitable cap 69. It is to be recognized, however, that in some installations it maybe preferable to use two or even more tanks, similar in nature and construction to the tank shown, in which event the cap 69 would be removed and the pipe suitably extended to service the other tank or tanks similarly provided with the combined water inlet and gas distributing pipes 56. V

In any event, when it is desired to fill the tank, it is only necessary that a valve 71in the pipe 66 be opened so as, to permit water to run into the pipes 56 and outwardly through apertures or perforations, 72 in the upper surfaces of the pipes, the water passing throughthe apertures 72 and filling the tank to the desired level, which may be ascertained by observation of the sight glass 73. Concurrently, the water in the vertical conduit 51 rises. Whenthe proper water level has been reached, the valve71 can be closed and the displacement blower In the form of the smoke consumer of my invention I 33 started. As the blower builds up pressure in the conduit 8 and especially in the vertical portion 51 of the conduit, the water which theretofore was disposed within the vertical conduit portion 51 is displaced; and, as the exhaust gases reach the level of the pipes 56, they travel radially outwardly through the pipes 56 and pass through the apertures 72 in the direction indicated by the arrow 74 to form a plurality of bubbles 76 which move upwardly and into the gas collection portion 77 in the tank located above the level 78 of the water.

[is the proceeds upwardly in the finely divided or bubble form, the surrounding liquid, such as water cleans the gas so that the gas in the gas collecting area 77 is relatively pure. The purified gas is under pressure and discharges upwardly in a direction shown by the arrow 79 12110 an outlet pipe 80, from which location the cleaned gas can be led to a desired location for reuse or for discharge to the atmosphere.

Connecting with the bottom 54 of the conduit vertical portion 51 is an appropriate dischargev or clean out valve 38 with a discharge pipe 39 enabling the operator to drain the water from the tank when the water reaches a high level of pollution.

As heretofore mentioned, where the exhaust gases are highly charged with undesirable foreign matter it may be necessary to use another tank placed in tandem arrangement with the tank 62 in cleaning the gases, or even two or more additional tanks in addition to that shown. In this event, the pipe 89 will be directed, for example, in a left-hand direction as appears in Figure 1 and would thereupon become a supply pipe to the conduit 8 in the sense that the outlet 91 of the pipe would be subjected again to a spray chamber operation and the pipe would be bent in a vertically downward direction and serve the same purpose and perform in the same manner of operation as the vertical portion 51 of the conduit 8. So, also, in the event of using a multiplicity of tanks, the outlet or drain pipe 39 shown in Figure 1 would be joined by other and similar discharge or drainage pipes connected in parallel with the discharge pipe 89 shown in Figure l.

The water supply line 66 is tapped at a T connection 83, from which point water is led through suitable piping 8 4, and through a valve 86, upwardly to a water supply manifold 87 servicing the plurality of shower scrubbing heads in the spray chamber 41.

While the tank 62 illustrated in Figure 1 serves for a very lengthy period without the need for cleaning, and while the discharge plumbing performs as a highly satisfactory llushing mechanism, it is occasionally necessary to reach the interior of the tank, and for this purpose I have provided a hinged manhole and cover 93 giving access to the tank but which is firmly held down in closed position at other times by suitable clamping or dogging mechanism 94.

Figure 4 illustrates another or modified form of the tank and conduit structure and differs from the form shown in Figure .1 in a number of respects. The vertical portion 103 of the conduit is not led entirely to the bottom 104 of the tank; but, instead, is located at a distance above the bottom by a predetermined amount depending on the size of the tank. Mounted around the periphery of the lower end of the conduit 103, as by suitable weldments 106, is a bell-shaped bonnet 107, or hood, extending outwardly and downwardly to the margin of the tank where it is joined thereto as by suitable weldments 103. A plurality of apertures 109, or perforations, are provided in the hood 107 and permit the exhaust gases passing downwardly in the conduit 103 in the direction indicated by the arrows 111 and laterally outwardly in a radial direction to pass upwardly through the perforations in the fashion indicated by the arrows 11.2. After the gases pass through the apertures 109 they assume ordinarily a globular shape 113, and, passing upwardly through the fluid 114 in the tank, collect in a gas collecting portion 116 adjacent the top 117 of the tank, and are thereupon conducted outwardly through an outlet pipe 118 in the direction indicated by the arrows 119. The cleaned gas is thereupon either led to the next tank in a series or, if sufliciently pure, to other suitable'locations such as discharge to the atmosphere. In the form of the tank shown in Figure 4, the tank is charged or filled with fluid through a fluid inlet pipe 121 having an appropriate valve 122 interposed in the line. Draining or flushing is performed by provision of an outlet pipe 126 and suitable valve 127, the discharge passing outwardly through the valve and to suitable discharge locations.

It can therefore be seen thatI have provided a smoke consumer which is relatively inexpensive to make and to maintain and yet which performs a highly eflicient and thorough gas washing operation, the stack gas deflector and baffle and shower scrubbing chamber serving particularly to dilute and to clean the gas before subjecting the gas to the final cleaning operation in the tanks themselves.

What is claimed is:

An exhaust gas cleaner for attachment to an exhaust gas stack, said cleaner comprising a frame, a tank for holding water mounted on said frame, an exhaust gas conduit having one end mounted on the bottom of said tank and extending vertically upwardly through the top of said tank, the other end of said exhaust gas conduit being in communication with said stack, a horizontal water filling and draining pipe extending across said tank at a location removed from the bottom thereof, said pipe being in communication with said exhaust gas conduit, said pipe having a plurality of apertures in the portion of said pipe located within said tank, said apertures being adapted to distribute exhaust gases located in said conduit into water disposed in said tank and to conduct water from said tank into said conduit, said apertures also being adapted to conduct water from said pipe into said tank, said pipe being led exteriorly of said tank and into communication with a water source, valve means on the exterior portion of said pipe for isolating the portion of said pipe within said tank from the water source, a plurality of spray nozzles adapted to spray water across a portion of said conduit, and a drain valve on the bottom end of said conduit at an elevation below said pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 517,297 Reiss Mar. 27, 1894 $81,448 White Apr. 27, 1897 824,469 Cline June 26, 1906 2,090,994 Brandes Aug. 24, 1937 2,345,530 Connell Mar. 28, 1944 2,572,199 Richards Oct. 23, 1951 2,720,386 Bungas Oct. 11, 1955 2,721,065 Ingram Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 107,819 Germany Jan. 11, 1900 

